You have wrong perception on your self and on the other. And the other has wrong perception on themselves and on you, and that is the cause of fear, of violence, of hatred.

That is why trying to remove wrong perceptions is the only way to peace, and that is why Nirvana is, first of all, the removal or wrong perceptions.

When you remove wrong perceptions, you remove the suffering.

To meditate deeply, you find out that even ideas like being and non-being, or birth and death, or coming and going, are wrong ideas.

If you can touch reality in depth, you realize that suchness, which means ultimate reality, is free from birth, from dying, from coming, from going, from being, from non-being.

That is why Nirvana is first of all the removal of notions, of ideas, that serve the basis of misunderstanding and suffering.

When you look at a cloud, you think that the cloud has being. And later on when the cloud becomes the rain, you don’t see the cloud anymore and you say the cloud is not there.

You describe the cloud as non-being. But if you look deeply, you can see the cloud in the rain. And that is why it is impossible for the cloud to die.

The cloud can become rain, snow, or ice. But the cloud can not become nothing.

And that is why the notion of death can not be applied to the reality. There is a transformation. There is a continuation.

But you can not say that there is death, because in your mind, to die means from something you suddenly become nothing.

From someone you suddenly become no one. And so the notion of death cannot apply to reality, whether to a cloud or to a human being.

If you are afraid of death, of nothingness, of non-being, it is because you have wrong perceptions on death and on non-being.

Ideas like being born, dying, coming and going, being and non-being, should be removed by the practice of looking deeply.

And when you can remove these notions, you are free and you have non-fear. And non-fear is the true foundation of great happiness.

As long fear is in your heart, happiness can not be perfect.

And that is why Nirvana is not something that you get in the future. Nirvana is the capacity of removing the wrong notions, wrong perceptions, which is the practice of freedom.

Nirvana can be translated as freedom: freedom from views.

And in Buddhism, all views are wrong views. When you get in touch with reality, you no longer have views. You have wisdom. You have a direct encounter with reality, and that is no longer called views.

May the sound of this bell penetrate deep into the cosmos
Even in the darkest spots living beings are able to hear it clearly
So that all suffering in them ceases, understanding comes to their heart
And they transcend the path of sorrow and death.

The universal dharma door is already open
The sound of the rising tide is heard clearly
The miracle happens
A beautiful child appears in the heart of the lotus flower
One single drop of this compassionate water is enough to bring back the refreshing spring to our mountains and rivers.

Listening to the bell I feel the afflictions in me begin to dissolve
My mind calm, my body relaxed
A smile is born on my lips
Following the sound of the bell, my breath brings me back to the safe island of mindfulness
In the garden of my heart, the flowers of peace bloom beautifully.